CFRB
'''CFRB, or Newstalk 1010 as it's often referred to, is an AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX on 6.07 Mhz. The station broadcasts a mix of talk & news throughout the day from it's transmitter located in the community of Clarkson, in the city of Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. The main offices for CFRB are located in midtown Toronto @ 2 St. Clair Avenue West on the corner of Yonge Street. History CFRB is Toronto's oldest broadcaster. It was founded by the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company (the precursor of Rogers Communications) to promote Edward S. Rogers, Sr.'s invention of a batteryless radio receiver that could be operated using alternating current & therefore did not need the cumbersome battery that had previously been required. The station itself was a demonstration of Rogers' application of his invention to radio transmitters as well as receivers, a development that allowed for a signal that reproduced voices & music more clearly. The new type of transmitter also made CFRB the world's 1st all-electric radio station. The letters "RB" in the station's callsign stand for "Rogers' Batteryless" (the letters "CF" form 1 of Canada's ITU prefixes). The station began transmitting on an experimental basis in January 1927 as 9RB until March when it began functioning as commercial radio station CFRB with the transmission of a live symphony orchestra concert conducted by Jack Arthur. CFRB leased time for several hours a day to "phantom station" CNRX, carrying programming of the Canadian National Railway radio network, Canada's 1st radio network, until 1932 when the network disbanded. From 1930 until 1935 CFRB also leased time to phantom station CPRY of the rival Canadian Pacific Railway radio service. CFRB's 1st studios were in a mansion on Jarvis Street, north of Wellesley, built by the Massey family. In 1929, the station became an affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System. In the 1930s, CFRB began airing what became Hockey Night in Canada & continued to air the program for decades even though it was also aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's CBL for most of that time. CFRB has been broadcasting @ 1010 kHz AM since 1947. Since 1937, the station has been simulcast on shortwave on CFRX @ 6070 kHz. Following the death of Edward S. Rogers, Sr., Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited was sold in 1941 & became Standard Radio Limited. Wally Crouter joined the station in 1946 eventually becoming it's morning man, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1996. Also in 1946, Standard Radio Limited was purchased by Argus Corporation. Another long-lasting show was Calling All Britons featuring news, sports scores & music from Britain. It was hosted by Ray Sonin from 1965 until his death in 1991. In 1965, CFRB moved it's studios from 37 Bloor Street West, where they had been since 1929, to it's current location @ St. Clair Avenue & Yonge Street. In 1978, Argus Corporation was acquired by Conrad Black & his brother, thus also giving them ownership of Standard Broadcasting which they sold to Allan Slaight in 1985. In November 2007, Standard Broadcasting was sold to Astral Media. CFRB was the #1 station in the Toronto market for many decades according to the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement's ratings. However, it has declined in recent years & in 2006 was rated 5th. Ted Rogers, the communications mogul & son of CFRB's founder, had vowed to re-acquire the station that his family had lost after his father's death & considered his failure to do so his greatest disappointment. Reports indicate he was continuing to pressure Astral, CFRB's current owner, to sell the station right up until his death in 2008. (It's not clear how this would have occurred under current CRTC regulations, as Rogers already owns 2 AM stations in Toronto, CFTR & CJCL, the maximum permitted in a single market.) Transmitter The transmitter for CFRB 1010 is a prominent landmark along Toronto's waterfront & is visible from over 100 km away. It's also used for navigation by pilots, on approach to Toronto Pearson International Airport, or to Toronto Island Airport. It consists of 4 vertical masts, of 550 feet. The CFRX broadcasting @ 6070 kHz is operated on the north end of the same site beside the main building. CFRB was 1 of few to broadcast in AM Stereo, starting in 1984. However, since AM stereo never achieved wide acceptance, the station has recently deactivated it's stereo broadcasting system. The transmitter is located on Royal Windsor Drive, formerly King's Highway 122, 200 meters west of the intersection of Lakeshore Road West (former King's Highway 2) & Southdown Road, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Note: West of this intersection Lakeshore Road West becomes Royal Windsor Drive. Program changes In early 2007, CFRB reported an increase in ratings since programming changes such as Bill Carroll's assumption of morning show duties from Ted Woloshyn. *Adult listeners of CFRB aged 25-54 have increased 14.8%. *''The Bill Carroll Morning Show'' saw an increase of 11.2% listeners during the Winter BBM Ratings. Female listeners of the show aged 25-54 have increased 36.6% while male listeners aged 25-54 have only increased 25.8%. *Listeners aged 25-54 of the 12-6 PM weekend shows increased 67.6%. Listeners aged 25-54 of the 6 AM-12 PM weekend shows increased 670.5%, also in the Winter BBM Ratings. However, CFRB's morning show has trailed CBC Radio One's Metro Morning with Andy Barrie, a former CFRB host & commentator, in the ratings since 2003. Current hosts Weekdays *Robert Turner, The Early Edition - Early Mornings - 5-6 AM *Bill Carroll, The Bill Carroll Morning Show - Weekdays 6-10 AM *Jim Richards, The Jim Richards Show - Weekdays 10 AM-12 PM *Dave Trafford, Toronto @ Noon - Noon Hour - 12-1 PM *Paul & Carol Mott, The Motts - Afternoons - 1-3 PM *Michael Coren, The Michael Coren Show - Late Afternoon - 3-4 PM *John Moore, The John Moore Show - Drive Time - 4-7 PM *Ryan Doyle, The Ryan Doyle Show - Evenings - 7-10 PM *Peter Anthony Holder, Holder Tonight - Tuesday-Saturday 12-3 AM Weekends & swing shifts *John Donabie, Saturday & Sunday Mornings *Mark Cullen, "The Garden Show" - Saturday Mornings *Issues With Stephen LeDrew, Sunday Morning *Lynne Russell Saturday Afternoons *Ben Mercer, Saturday Afternoons *Spider Jones, Sunday Afternoons *Mark Elliot, People Helping People - Saturday Nights - 11 PM-2 AM Other weekend hosts *Kevin Foxx (Stand Up Comedian Live Sundays 9pm-10pm) *Dale Goldhawk *Dr. Joe *Marc Saltzman *Live Audio Wrestling Newscasters *Dave Agar *Evelyn Macko *Rick Hodge, Sports Director Alumni *Charles Adler *Andy Barrie *David Bent *Bob Bratina *Jane Brown *Wally Crouter *Jack Dennett *John Dolan *Charles Doering *John Elston *Erica Ehm *Dan Gallagher *John Gilbert *Avery Haines *Monty Hall *Jane Hawtin *Dave Hodge *Jim Hunter *Betty Kennedy *Andrew Krystal *Brian Linehan *Pat Marsden *Bill McDonald *Wes McKnight *Orim Meikle *Fred Napoli *Ed Needham *John Oakley *David Onley *Tayler Parnaby *Valerie Pringle *Dave Quinn *Percy Saltzman *Henry Shannon *Peter Shurman *Gordon Sinclair *Ray Sonin *Randy Taylor *Brian Williams *Dean Gualandi *Drew Garner *Iain Grant *Ted Woloshyn *Tom Young *Fred Locking *John Enright *Ken Cox *Neal Sandy *Prior Smith *Eric Thorsen *George Wilson *Wayne Van Exan *Ian Slack *Jocko Thomas External links *Newstalk 1010 CFRB's Website *CFRB History